Eyes Like Mine
by FirstFandomFangirl
Summary: Olivia is not too happy with her life, living with blindness and the insulting overprotection she lives with on a daily basis, but she's not looking for a MAN to come and fix it for her. The stranger who likes to hang out on the same hill she does gives off an air of having nefarious intentions... but maybe he's just interested in the one human who isn't scared by his eyes.
1. Chapter 1

**hi yes im back on my bull(crap)**

**uhhhh so here. is another dumb herobrine romance fic. very different vibe than the nether queen, tho, more like ottwcd tbh.**

**anyway enjoy. or dont. whatever.**

* * *

The sun came out from behind the clouds, and she tilted her head back as the rays warmed her face.

It was probably beautiful.

Olivia sat on the hill, leaning back in the grass on calloused palms. She could feel the wind playing with her hair, and the tickle of grass on her bare ankles. She heard light footsteps in the grass to her left, probably a squirrel from the sound of it, but she didn't open her eyes. Not that it really mattered.

"What's a pretty young maiden like you doing out here all alone?" The voice startled her, and she jumped, pushing herself up. It was a masculine voice. That in itself, coupled with the prickling feeling of eyes on her, unsettled her, as being alone with a strange man wasn't really her idea of a good time.

"Minding my own business." She retorted. "And I suggest you mind yours." A pause, followed by a genuine laugh.

"Sarcastic, hmm? I like that in a woman."

"Yeah, well, no one asked you." Another chuckle, then approaching footsteps. Olivia decided she did not like this man.

"You didn't answer my question, though." A shuffle as he sat in the grass a couple feet away. Olivia cocked her head towards him, formulating a possible escape route should he try to do something... unscrupulous. "What are you doing up here all alone? Blindfolded, no less? Playing the world's most complicated game of Blind Man's Bluff?"

"I did tell you, minding my business." You press a hand to the blindfold on your face absentmindedly. "I'm really not in the mood to talk about my personal problems with a random stranger. Go away." A scoff.

"Is this how your mother raised you to treat strangers?"

"Yes, actually, when they're a strange man who won't leave me alone." A _tch._

"I am wounded, but I suppose that's sound enough logic." A sigh, then another shuffle as he got back to his feet. "Answer one thing for me, though, for I am _burning_ with curiosity." Olivia frowned.

"Fine."

"What is the purpose of the blindfold?"

"It keeps my eyes safe." She answered curtly. "I'm blind. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Expecting a snappy retort, she was surprised to be greeted by only silence.

"I don't know." He said at last. Then he walked away.

Although she heard his footsteps fade away into the wind and the rustling grass, the feeling of being watched never went away.

* * *

Something hard smacked into her shoulder, and Olivia let out a grunt as she stumbled to the side.

"Oh! Miss Olivia, I'm so sorry." A young woman apologized, and she shrugged before continuing on. She heard a whisper travel through the busyness around her, and grumbled as she pulled her cloak's hood over her head. At least the path would probably be clear, now.

Hugging her cloak around herself, she cut through an empty alleyway before coming out onto the muted street her home sat on. She let herself in through a side door, ditching her cloak before making her way to the small bedroom on the other side of her single-floor house.

"Olivia!" A shout stopped her in her tracks, and she turned towards her mother's voice. "You're late home. It's pitch-black out there."

"I am?" She blinked under the blindfold. "Sorry. I didn't hear the bells."

"It's fine, just…" Her mother stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I really do-"

"-worry about me, yeah." She patted her mother's hand once before brushing it off. "I know. I'll be careful."

Before her elder could continue, Olivia slipped away, disappearing into her bedroom with the full intent of going to sleep.

"Hey." A voice dashed her hopes, and she let out a low groan.

"Isaac."

"I won't keep you up." Her brother assured her, and she sunk down on the edge of her bed with a sigh.

"You'd better not."

"I won't." Olivia lay back on her pillow, and a few seconds of silence followed, punctuated only by the soft clicking of whatever her brother was fiddling with.

She lay in bed for a good few hours before she fell asleep. The sound of the city was always so busy, so insufferably loud. She eventually fell asleep with her head buried in her pillow.

* * *

**so yeah**

**~FFF**


	2. Chapter 2

"We meet again, fair maiden." Olivia's heart dropped at the sound of a male voice.

"Oh." She didn't bother to hide the disappointment in her voice. "You're back."

"I suppose we got off on the wrong foot, hmm?" The grass crunched as he approached her.

"If by that you mean you were rude, yeah."

"_I_ was being rude?"

"Well," She amended, "I guess rude is the wrong word for it. Creepy."

"I apologize." His low chuckle did not serve to reassure her. "It was not my intention, I assure you." The smell of smoke permeated her senses as he got close, and she wrinkled up her nose. Was he some sort of blacksmith?

"Well, if you want to apologize, the first step you can take is to give me some space." The brunette extended a hand in his direction, nearly brushing his leg. "I came up here to be _alone_."

"Again, I apologize." He moved away, settling down in the grass a few feet from her. "I came up here for the view." Feeling eyes on her, Olivia bristled.

"Of?"

"The sunset." He sighed, turning away. Some of the tension in her shoulders easing, Olivia let out a sigh, letting her mind drift back to the pleasant thoughts she had previously been enjoying.

Although she tried to forget about the man sharing _her_ hill, she couldn't block out the sounds of him moving and breathing- not to mention the scent of smoke. Even a peaceful, quiet breath was loud enough to distract her, and the musk of smoke blocked out the smells of grass and trees.

Eventually, she gave up.

"So," she spoke up, immediately feeling his eyes on her. "Do you plan to come around here often?"

"Why do you ask?" There was a clearly flirtatious tone in his low voice, and she scowled.

"Because I come here to be alone, and I like it that way. Wanted to know if my spot was being taken over."

"Ah." The suggestive tone was gone, but he didn't sound upset. "I suppose I could relocate if my presence bothers you that much. I can imagine it would be hard for you to find a new 'spot', given your… condition."

"I can get around just fine." She fired back. "I could find another place if I wanted to, I would just _prefer_ not to be kicked out by a strange man who seems to find me _fascinating._"

"That's fair enough. Again, I apologize." He paused. "I suppose introductions are in order?"

"Are they?"

"You called me 'strange'. Perhaps if we got to know each other, even slightly better, I would not be that to you anymore."

"Yeah, and there's candy in the back of your wagon, why don't I come over and have some?"

"What?"

"Never mind." He didn't respond, and the two fell silent.

While she tried to focus on the scent of the grass and the sound of the wind, Olivia found herself unable to tear her thoughts away from the man sitting nearby. A prickling feeling moved up and down her spine, and though she heard no movement she couldn't help but feel like she was being stalked.

Eventually, fed up, she pushed herself up and stumbled to her feet.

"I'm going home." She announced.

"It's getting dark." Did she detect a note of worry in the man's voice? "The mobs will be coming out. Will you be safe?"

"I can hear mobs coming from miles away." Turning for the path down the hill, Olivia turned her back on the stranger. "It's Olivia, by the way."

"Hm?"

"My name. Olivia." Without waiting for a response (and ignoring any possible one that came), the blind girl descended down the path and disappeared into the woods.

* * *

"Miss Olivia."

"Oh, why am I not shocked?" Olivia sat down with a _thump_ in the tall grass, deliberately angling her body away from the stranger. "Didn't you say you'd find a new place to hang out?"

"I did imply such," the man responded, thoughtful. "But I do not recall confirming it."

"Silverfish." Draping herself over a log, Olivia tilted her head up to scowl at the setting sun.

"What is so distasteful about my presence?"

"You're breathing." A beat passed, then Olivia realized that might've come off more violent than she was intending. "Literally, I mean, I can hear your breaths. It throws off the peace of the mountain."

"Oh." He sounded amused. "Is that it?"

"Imagine if you were trying to look at the sunset and I stood directly in front of you. This is like that." Was her cross response. "Blindness, remember?"

"Rather difficult to forget."

"Good." Not good, actually. Probably the blindfold's fault. She kind of wanted to rip it off her face and chuck it over the edge of the mountain, but her mom would throw a fit.

The stranger was quiet, now, though, and the wind was picking up, helping to drown out the ambient sounds of his presence. Eventually, she managed to relax, just enjoying the sounds of nature around her.

All too soon, though, the crickets began to chirp, signifying the end of the day. Recalling her promise to try to get home sooner, Olivia picked herself up, heading for the path again as she fully expected to be interrupted by the stranger.

"Be safe." His only words, however, were fairly benign. She acknowledged him with a nod, but didn't respond as she descended the mountain.

Although she tried, however, she couldn't get the man off her mind. He was… certainly very _different_ than most men she knew, but she didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. At the very least, he didn't fawn over her and treat her like a china doll. Maybe the creepiness was a step up from that.

Where did he come from, anyway? She'd never met him before, and though she didn't know _everyone_ in the city she did know a fair number. Besides, if he lived near her she'd probably know. Going home wouldn't guarantee him leaving her alone.

This was the only city nearby, though. Was he homeless? Living on the mountain? Or maybe he was some sort of ~adventurer~, though why would an adventurer smell like smoke? He'd claimed to come to the hill for the sunset, but she still had her suspicions about that.

A zombie's groan echoed from the trees to her left, and Olivia quieted her footsteps, tugging her coat tighter around herself. Maybe she should start bringing a weapon with her.

For multiple reasons.


	3. Chapter 3

The hilltop was empty today.

Olivia's first clue was the lack of any nagging questions or creepy compliments, but soon enough she realized that the mountain was missing something else. Some… presence of sorts, which she'd gotten used to. Most people had a certain vibe they gave off, but few had such a strong presence that she would notice it without being reminded. Apparently Mr. Stranger was one of them. That was… definitely something.

When she went to sit down by the log she used as a landmark, though, her foot bumped something soft, and she reached down to find a small, burlap sack lying by the end of the log.

Warily, Olivia sat down beside it, fiddling with the fastening and pulling it open. Reaching inside, the first thing she felt was the smooth skin of an apple, then a small, wooden container with a latch. Flipping it open, she lifted the lid, and the air filled with the smell of fresh cake. Was this… from the stranger? He'd left her food?

No way she was eating it.

Unless… lifting the apple, Olivia grazed her fingers over the surface, searching for any bumps or bruises. As far as she could tell, it was perfect. She lifted it up, imagining the red skin shining in the sun. It wouldn't be poisoned or drugged, would it? How did one even drug an apple? At least, without leaving any marks.

Lowering it back down to her mouth, she took a small, hesitant bite. It _tasted_ perfect as well, crunchy and sweet, and though she searched she didn't find a single flavor out of place. It seemed harmless enough.

So she ate it. Even if it was drugged, so what? The stranger wasn't around, she would sense him otherwise. She had a good few hours before she had to go home, and her only plan was to lie in the sun and be lazy, so it didn't really matter.

She ate the cake too. It was _very_ rich, so she only ate a few bites at a time over the course of the next couple of hours. She doubted she had ever had something so sweet in her life. It was nice.

The afternoon dragged by slowly, and Olivia absolutely loved it. There was little wind and the sun was warm, she eventually took off her coat and dozed off on the log. Who needs self preservation when you're dumb and angry?

She drifted in and out of consciousness for the next couple of hours, confident from the lack of footsteps and voices that she was alone.

She wasn't.

* * *

"Do you wanna hear something weird?" Isaac's thoughtful voice interrupted his sister's quiet sulking.

"Sure."

"I've never seen your eyes."

"I doubt there's much to see." Olivia rolled over in his direction, prodding at her bandaged eyes. "I could take this off if you want."

"Not right now. It's dark."

"Mm." A few moments of silence, then Isaac rolled over towards her on the other side of the room. "I want to come with you up the mountain sometime."

"Uh, okay." Sure, maybe having her brother around would deter Mr. Stranger. "Why?"

"It's dull here in the city. It's like watching grass spread." Her younger brother complained. "I wanna see if there's something to what you do every day."

"I don't know. You can try, sure, but most of the reason I go up there is _because_ it's boring." Olivia pointed out. "Call me an introvert, but I'm much happier where there's no one else to bother me."

"That's fair." A shuffle as he threw an arm out from under his blankets. "Maybe the view will be nice?"

"That's what I've heard, anyway."

"Not a shock." Isaac fell silent, and Olivia contemplated letting the conversation rest, but eventually decided to take the opportunity to have a specific talk.

"There's someone else that likes to come up there. A man."

"Oh?" Isaac wrinkled his nose as he spoke. "What kind of man?"

"Kind of creepy?"

"And you didn't tell mom?"

"Why in the Nether would I do that? I'd never be let out of the house again." She huffed, flipping back over. "Anyway, he hasn't really messed with me. I just wanted to let you know in case we run into him."

"Right. Noted." Isaac was quiet for a moment. "You think I could take him?"

"Hard to say, I'm not sure what his figure is. But, I think he's a blacksmith, so maybe not."

"I can beat a blacksmith."

"Well, when push comes to shove, you'd better."

"Again, noted." Again, the room fell silent. Olivia snuggled into her flat pillow, intending to go to sleep, but something was off. It took her a few minutes to realize it, but soon enough she recognized the tingling feeling that crawled up and down her spine.

She was being watched.

* * *

Bones clicked and rattled on the forest trail, accompanied by the _thump thump thump _of dozens of pairs of footsteps. A skeleton horse lead the pack, a hunched figure perched on the undead beast's back.

The man lifted his hooded head as the city came into view, glowstone lamps shining cheerfully in the darkness. A tall, obsidian wall surrounded the city, but the gates were crafted of iron and guarded by a couple of sentries at best.

Preosan had enjoyed peace for a long time. Too long. Years upon years of prosperity had left them fat and lazy, with a wealth of resources that they refused to share while smaller towns died of starvation in the dead of winter.

Time for that to change.

The man gestured forwards, and his army of undead swarmed forward, around him and towards the city walls. Stars shone from the man's eyes as a hint of a smile appeared on his face, nudging his mount in the direction of the warm city lights.

Tonight, they would feast.


	4. Chapter 4

A skeleton rattled outside the window, and Olivia was on her feet in an instant.

"Isaac!" She yelled, and was immediately answered by a thump as he fell out of bed. "What's going on? Why are there mobs in the city?"

"Mobs?" Her brother echoed, scrambling upright. "Oh Notch, we need to get out."

"What's going on?!" Olivia demanded once more, only to be grabbed by the hand and dragged out of the bedroom. "Ow!" She yelped as her shoulder knocked into the doorframe. "Isaac!"

"Sorry, there's-" A door slammed open. "Mom! Get up!" Olivia tugged away from him, trying to hear what was going on outside, but the sound of crackling flames nearly drowned out any further information. "Mom?"

"Isaac, there's fire." She tugged urgently at him. "Mom's not even here, let's go!"

"Y-yeah, she must've run already." Isaac was audibly shaken, probably because _why the Nether did mom leave without us_, but they didn't have time to dwell on that. "Um, there are mobs in the streets. Skeletons, and zombies. There's a lot of fires, we need to- we need to find some people with weapons, probably."

"Right." Olivia's heart pounded in her chest, but she nodded, blinking her eyes under the blindfold to try and convince her body to wake up. Isaac's hand tightened around hers, and he moved towards the door.

"Just follow me." She squeezed his hand.

"Okay." Isaac shoved the door open with a _slam_, and the pair sprinted out onto the street.

Though she had lived in this city her entire life, Olivia was forced to clutch her brother's hand as her sense of direction was completely thrown off by the myriad of unfamiliar sensations she was forced to experience. Screams echoed off of walls, arrows whizzed through the air and slammed into wood and flesh, and the fire was very, very real around her.

She could feel the heat of a dozen burning buildings on her skin, and the air was thick with smoke. Her bare feet pounded against the cobblestones beneath her, sending spikes of pain up her stiff legs, and her brain felt like it was still waking up.

What in the _Nether_ was going on? There were too many mobs, _way_ too many mobs. And all here at the same time, there was - there was something going on. It couldn't be random, it was an organized attack, but who could-

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as Isaac stumbled, dragging her to the ground with him as he fell.

"Ohhh that's not good." He pulled his hand away, and Olivia reached out blindly for him.

"What happened?"

"I'm shot. My leg. I can't run." Isaac's voice was stilted. "You have to go."

"Are you serious?" Olivia pushed herself up, reaching out and grabbing the fabric of his sleeve. "No way. I can't go on without you. Literally, I mean, I can't _see!_"

"You'll be a sitting duck here!" Isaac grabbed her by the wrist, lifting her hand to her left. "That way is a clear street. Find somewhere quiet and hide, just get out of the street." She opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted. "I'll find a hiding spot too. Just get out of this, okay? I'll come find you." Olivia gave him the biggest scowl she could muster, but obeyed. Stepping away from her brother's fallen form, she turned and broke into a run, away from possibly the only thing in the world she had left.

Deprived of her only anchor, Olivia could do nothing but run blindly through the smoke and flames. Zombies' groans and the screams of those that still survived still rang out through the night, but they hardly served as a point of reference given her total lack of experience with the situation. So she kept running, hoping and praying to Notch that she wouldn't slam straight into a wall.

She tripped.

Olivia threw her hands in front of her as she crashed to the ground, scraping her knees on the rough stones. Rubbing her stinging palms on her shirt, she stumbled upright once more, moving to start running again.

-only for a cold hand to grab her forearm, dragging her back.

She let out a cry, yanking her arm away with all her might, but the grip was firm. Her faint hope that it was another human was crushed when she was whirled around to face the figure, and the horrible stench of rotting flesh filled her senses.

"No, no, no!" Olivia fought the creature with all her might, kicking and hitting it with everything she had. Her blows struck true, but the creature seemed unaffected, letting out a low moan and catching her other wrist. "No, let _go!_ I am _not_ being eaten by a zombie!" She kicked and bucked, but the monster held her effortlessly. Before she knew it, one of its' cold hands was on her neck, and her feet were forced out from under her as it threw her to the ground.

Her head against the pavement, and she was out.

* * *

The first thing Olivia noticed upon waking up was the uncomfortable tightness of a cloth tied over her mouth.

Immediately, she began to struggle, but quickly found it impossible as she was tied up firmly and lying on what felt like a moving cart. The rocking and bumping of the vehicle made her stomach churn, and she forced down the bile rising in her throat. This was no time to get sick.

Instead, she lay still, trying her best to listen to her surroundings. She could still hear (and smell) the zombies, as well as the constant beating of footsteps. She could hear skeletons, too, their bones rattling and clicking together as they followed along. She… had been kidnapped. Not killed? At least, not yet?

Letting out a muffled groan, she twisted on the bottom of the cart, trying to get comfortable. She felt oddly exposed, but she couldn't figure out exactly why - until she realized that the blindfold was gone from her face.

Reflexively, she squeezed her eyes shut. Her eyes were… damaged, her mother had said. Unsettling. That's what the blindfold was for, really - to protect everyone else from having to see her. And closing her eyes wouldn't help to hide the scar that ran across her face.

She wriggled in her bonds, but still couldn't move an inch, hands tied firmly behind her back and legs bound at her ankles. For the millionth time in her life, Olivia wished that she could see. Maybe then she'd be able to get a better idea of what was going on.

The cart bumped along for what had to have been hours, Olivia getting gradually more sore, hungry, and tired along the way. She longed to go back to sleep, but the rattling and bumping of the cart she rode upon was far too violent for her to get any sort of rest.

She wished Isaac was here.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally, at what felt like noon-ish, the cart stopped.

Olivia heard voices, and poked her head up to try and hear better. Before she could recognize any of them, though, a pair of strong hands grabbed her and hoisted her out of the cart.

She let out a muffled yelp as she was placed on her feet, wobbling dangerously once the hands let go. A moment later, though, the same cold hands were at her feet, untying the ropes that bound her ankles together. After a moment, the rope was pulled away, and she finally managed to catch her balance.

The hand took her by the shoulder, and she realized with a chill that the person was a zombie. It started to lead her forward, and she didn't resist, keeping her eyes shut. There really wasn't any point in fighting, not this time. Not with the sheer number of mobs around.

The zombie lead her to the edge of the dirt path and into the grass, and through a small patch of trees before getting back to dirt. The human voices got louder as she walked, and she hoped she was being brought towards what were probably other prisoners.

Then she heard her mother call out her name.

"Olivia!" The zombie let go of her, and she quickly stepped away as she heard footsteps pounding towards her. "Oh honey, oh-" Warm arms were thrown around her, and Olivia pressed her forehead into her mother's shoulder. She was safe.

She heard the zombie walking away, and a moment later her mother pulled back.

"Oh, let me get you untied." Reaching to the back of her head, her mother struggled with the knot on her gag for a moment before pulling the cloth away. Coughing, Olivia gave her a grateful smile.

"Thanks."

"Of course, honey. Have you seen Isaac anywhere?"

"...no." Obviously she had never _seen _him, but the meaning got across. "He's not here?"

"I hope he's just in one of the wagons they brought you on." Stepping to her left, her mother set to work on the rope binding her hands.

"Hopefully. Where are we?"

"Some… sort of camp, I think." The rope loosened, then dropped to the ground. "There are… a lot of captives here. Mainly women, but I think that's just because more men were… killed in the attack." Mom's voice lowered with sorrow. "The… undead, they… haven't attacked us. They're just holding us here."

"Do you have any idea why?"

"Not in the slightest." Her mother shook her head as she spoke. "There are no buildings, or tents, so I don't think we've arrived at our destination. We're in a clearing, in the woods - the undead stay under the trees so they won't burn."

"That's too smart for mobs." Olivia protested. "Especially zombies. They have to be being controlled by someone, something."

"I know." Mom pulled her close again, and this time her daughter returned the embrace. She held on until her elder pulled away. "Your blindfold."

"I have no idea what happened to it. Woke up without it."

"Well, we need to- need to cover your eyes. Here." A moment later, rough cloth pressed against her face. The gag. Olivia wrinkled her nose, but didn't protest as the fabric was tied again behind her head.

"There." Pulling her hands back, Mom let out a sigh. "Stay by my side for now, okay? And keep watch for your brother."

"I will." Olivia promised. "We're gonna be okay."

"I hope so, baby girl."

* * *

Olivia's legs _hurt._

After the brief stop in the forest, the prisoners had been rounded up again and marched down the road once more. Since she was no longer unconscious, she didn't get the luxury of riding in a cart. She got to walk with everyone else.

For a very long time. Long into the night. By this point, she was starving, exhausted, and in pain from the sheer number of sharp things she had stepped on in the course of traversing the woods with no shoes.

At the very least, she had a bit more information now. Her mother had claimed to have seen a person riding on a skeleton horse, a cloak hiding their form. Probably some sort of leader.

She'd also noticed that everything smelled like smoke. Probably due to the fires back in the city.

At long last, their journey ended, their destination apparently being a flowery field. While no one talked to them, since, mobs… can't, they were herded into the field and guarded by the mobs while they were presumably allowed to get some sleep. Olivia almost passed out the minute they stopped walking, but her mother insisted they find a spot near the others. It didn't… really make them any more safe, but it made her feel better, so she let her.

Unfortunately, five seconds after her head hit the grass, a cold hand grasped her arm, dragging her back to her feet.

"Are you _kidding me,_" She grumbled, but didn't have the strength to fight as she was dragged away by the zombie. Her mother didn't speak. Maybe she'd fallen asleep already.

The zombie wove through the trees, and Olivia stumbled after it, at least half-awake now from the cold hand on her arm. After a minute, the tree roots and grass beneath her were replaced by a pressed path, and she was jerked to a stop in the center of it before being released.

"Hello." She jumped at the voice. Zombies didn't talk. "My name is Orion. I am the leader of the… pleasant company you find yourself in."

"Um, charmed." The voice came from directly in front of her, and a bit above. Probably the rider of the skeleton horse. "I'm Olivia?"

"Is that a question?"

"Maybe?"

"Very well." A shuffle as the man slid from the saddle of his horse, then a _thump _when he landed on the ground. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss. I've called you here to inform you that you have 24 hours to prove to me why you shouldn't die."

"Um, _what?_" Olivia recoiled, but bumped into her zombie escort. While it wasn't a huge shock that the leader of a giant raiding party of undead probably wanted to kill her, the way he said it was just… what? "Why me, specifically?"

"You're blind." Fingers brushed her blindfold, and she smacked the hand away.

"I noticed."

"You are unable to survive on your own." Orion continued. "A burden on society. You have no place in this world." Olivia sputtered with indignation.

"I can get along just fine on my own! I'm no more helpless than anyone else my age!"

"That is what I am asking you to prove to me." Orion leaned back, and Olivia could hear the sick grin in his voice. "I don't care how. Prove to me that you can be a useful member of a community, and I will let you live. Otherwise…" He chuckled. "Maybe you can be useful as a zombie."

"Are you a person?" Olivia demanded. "Because that's not how people are supposed to act."

"I am a _higher being_." The man's voice went cold. "I understand more about your race than you ever will. Sometimes it is necessary to prune away the parasites so that society as a whole may thrive."

"I literally don't even know what you just said."

"Take her back to camp." Orion ordered, and a pair of cold hands grabbed her by the arms. She tried to wrench away, but the monsters held fast, and she gave up as she was dragged off, back into the woods.


	6. Chapter 6

Olivia tilted her head back, enjoying the cool breeze on her face as she was lead through the woods by her undead escort. While this wasn't the greatest of situations, it was kind of nice to get out of the city.

...how in Notch's green world was she supposed to prove herself worthy of living?

The guy had said something along the lines of 'prove it to me, I don't care how', but that really wasn't helpful. She had no idea what he was looking for. Was she just supposed to get around without her mother fawning over her, or perform some great feat to prove she was useful? It wasn't like she had many opportunities to do so, not when they were corralled into a clump in the middle of a field. Short of flat-out attacking her captors, she didn't have many opportunities for heroics.

A familiar presence caught her attention.

The next second, a sickening _crack_ came from her left and one of the zombies went down, cold fingers slipping from her arm. The other zombie let out an unintelligible shout, but a _thump_ sent it crashing to the ground as well. Olivia stumbled back, lifting her hands in a defensive position from a possible assailant, only to freeze as a warm hand grasped her wrist.

"Miss Olivia."

The stranger.

"H-hey?" She stammered out, not quite sure how to react as the stranger began to tug at her arm.

"We have to go, come on. Are you hurt?"

"Just tired." Unsteadily, she picked up her feet, following him as he led her away. "What are you… doing here?"

"I came to save you."

"Why?" Suddenly she wasn't sure this was a rescue.

"Why wouldn't I? Your life was in danger." He walked slowly, carefully guiding her through the trees. Ordinarily this would probably tick her off, but she was too tired to care. "Your city is in ruins, almost entirely stripped of life. I'm not entirely sure what Orion has planned for you, but given his record it cannot be anything good."

"You know him?" She asked blearily. It seemed almost too coincidental that this stranger, who was somehow connected to her captor, and said captor would show up within a week of one another.

"Only his reputation."

"Oh." His other hand touched her shoulder to steady her as she nearly tripped on a root. "Where are we going?"

"The cave I have been using as shelter. Orion's forces should not be able to find you there."

"Okay." She didn't know if it was really a safe bet to trust him, but he was preferable to the zombies, so she followed him. A few minutes of silent travel later, the sound of their footsteps began to echo around her, and her bare feet touched cool stone.

The stranger led her over to a wall, and pressed her hand against the surface before letting go. Immediately, she collapsed, sinking to the ground and leaning back against the stone. Letting out a tired sigh, she pulled her knees up to her chest, folding her arms and resting her chin atop them. She could hear the stranger walking around, but the echo of the sounds off the walls made it hard to pinpoint his location. All she could do was trust that she was safe.

"Who are you?" She asked, voice muffled by her arms. The stranger stopped, not moving for a second, before he replied.

"Some have called me 'Hero'."

There was silence for a moment.

"I'm not calling you that."

"I'm serious. It's a nickname." 'Hero' chuckled, coming close to sit beside her. "And I _did_ just save you, did I not?"

"Yeah, but why? Why me, I mean?" She lifted her head an inch to speak more clearly. "What makes me so special?"

"You're blind." Olivia gave him the most offended look she thought possible. "I promise, I think no less of your ability as a result. It's only that you… perceive me differently than you would otherwise." She raised an eyebrow.

"How?" Hero paused, and Olivia felt his gaze shift from her.

"There are…" He began, his voice stilted. "...many… who find my appearance… unsettling." His gaze returned to her. "You, though, are incapable of judging based on my appearance."

"That I am." She agreed. "Unsettling how? You're a person, aren't you?"

"As far as I know." He confirmed. "My eyes are the problem. They are… different."

"Okay, same." She raised her hand for a fist-bump. She did not receive one. "That's the main reason for the blindfold, actually. So people don't have to see my eyes."

"Oh?" He shifted. "May I see?"

"Rather you didn't. Already way too out of my comfort zone right now."

"Very well." He shifted. "Your feet are bleeding."

"They are?" Now that she focused on it, she could feet a dampness on her aching soles, and the coppery odor of blood in the air. "Oh."

"I have bandages, if you would allow me to care for your wounds."

"I can do it."

"Very well." Hero stood, stepping away for a minute. Olivia leaned back again, letting the cold stone on her back soothe her aching muscles. It was so tempting to just drop off to sleep right there, to rest her weary body, but she was determined to stay awake at least long enough to patch herself up. She wasn't too keen on falling asleep next to 'Hero' either - she didn't know enough about him to trust him yet. Instead, she focused on the world around her, on the sounds of the forest echoing through the entryway and bouncing around the dome-shaped room.

She was asleep before her savior turned back around.


	7. Chapter 7

**tbh at this point I have no idea if this is actually gonna be a romance  
**

**Review replies:**

**Giggieba: Nahh I named Orion after a preschooler at my church, his name doesnt mean anything that I havent made up**

**Bookkeeper: I refuse to confirm or deny that statement**

**LPK9: *fingerguns***

* * *

When Olivia woke up, she found herself curled up on the ground and swaddled in warmth.

Pushing herself up, the brunette reached out to find herself covered by a thin blanket. Brushing it aside, she reached down to investigate her torn and aching feet, and found them wrapped firmly in bandages.

Huh. Had she done this?

The last day (or so?) was a blur, she remembered being rescued by the stranger and following him to this cave to hide. Beyond that, not much.

"Hero?" She croaked out, sitting up and tucking the blanket around her legs. There was no response. Her throat was insanely dry, she noted as she swallowed. How long had it been since she had water? Or food, for that matter? Not since the attack, for certain, which was… maybe a day or two now.

Pressing a hand against the ground, Olivia pushed herself up, letting out a soft groan as she shifted her weight onto her aching legs. She needed to find some water. Dehydration would kill her a lot faster than starvation would.

Snatching up the blanket, Olivia wrapped it around her shoulders, then started to wobble her way towards the exit of the cave. She kept one hand raised in front of her, the other holding the blanket, to ensure she didn't smash face-first into a wall. Following the sounds of the forest, she managed to limp out of the cave and onto the grass once more.

Holding her breath, she stopped and listened, searching for any sound that even resembled flowing water. Nothing. If there was a stream or river nearby, the sound was masked by the wind that danced through the trees above her.

Shoulders slumping, Olivia stepped back, sinking back down onto the stone. She really was helpless, now. Lost in the wilderness with no supplies or a sense of direction, wholly dependent on a stranger who may or may not have her best interests at heart. If she did strike out to try and find food and/or water on her own, she would most likely get lost and end up eaten by a zombie before Hero could find her. She hated being the recipient of pity, but even she pitied herself right now.

She heard footsteps crunch in the grass, and Hero's presence appeared once more.

"Olivia?" She lifted her head at the sound of his voice, and he let out a breath. "You're awake."

"Yeah." She rasped. "Do you have- water?"

"I do, here." The hollow sound of a leader boot on stone echoed through the cave behind her, and she held still as the man lowered himself beside her and pressed a bottle into her waiting hand.

"Th'nk you." Releasing her death grip on the blanket, Olivia tugged the cork out of the mouth of the bottle and took a long, slow sip of the sweet water. Immediately, her body felt better, less like she was about to crumble and blow away in the wind, and she downed the contents of the bottle before replacing the cork.

She offered the empty bottle back to Hero, who still knelt beside her, then spoke.

"What are we going to do now?"

"Do?" He echoed, taking the bottle and getting back to his feet. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, this isn't your plan for forever, is it?" Olivia scrambled up beside him, only to grit her teeth at the pain in her lower body. "Live in a cave in the middle of nowhere? And my family, I have to- have to do something, I don't know what whats-his-face wants with them but I know he's a few sandwiches shy of a picnic and-"

"Olivia." Hero interrupted. "What _can _we do? You've seen- that is, you're aware of his forces. We're just two people. What can we possibly do against him?" Olivia's mouth opened, then closed. A million daring plans flashed through her mind, plans to rescue her mother, find Isaac, and send Orion crawling back to the swamp he came from, but each one was so far-fetched that she dismissed them in an instant. He was right.

"Well we can't just _stand _here." She managed at last. "We have to do _something._"

"Like what?" Hero challenged. "Even without his men, Orion is a nightmare to behold. We _can't. _They are at his mercy. I'm sorry, but that's simply the way it is."

"What about me?" Olivia snapped back. "You rescued me! You took out two zombies like it was nothing! Why can't you help the others?!"

"Rescuing one girl, alone and divided from the rest of the pack, is far simpler than taking on an army of zombies and skeletons." His voice was low, almost a growl. "Besides, I've told you already that I am not welcome among the others of your kind."

"The Nether do you mean 'your kind'? Humans? Are you not human?!"

"How should I know?" Hero spat. "They don't seem to think so." Olivia stopped. She didn't have a coherent response to that.

"Your eyes." She managed after a moment. "That's it? Your eyes are different, and people hate you?"

"Yes." He replied bitterly.

"What about your family?"

"I don't have one."

"...oh." Her thoughts flitted to the concept of _her_ not having a family, and her heart ached. "...I'm going back to help them."

"That is _suicide._" Hero's voice was stone-cold and firm. "You will be in an unfamiliar area, surrounded by unseen enemies, who by now will have orders to kill you on sight. How can you even suggest such a thing?"

"My family is all I have left, isn't it?" She protested. "They destroyed Preosan City, right? My home, my city, they're gone. My brother might be d-dead." Her voice hitched, and she pushed forward. "I'm not going to stand by and let them kill my mother."

"You would let them kill you first?"

"I'm _not _defenseless!"

"But you _are_ at a disadvantage." A firm hand grasped her shoulder, and though she jerked away he wouldn't let go. "You are outnumbered 500 to 1. Let me reiterate- this is _suicide._"

"Maybe." She grabbed his hand and pushed it away, a stubborn note in her voice. "But maybe a world without my family isn't one worth living in." Her mind made up, Olivia spun around, facing the trees. Letting the blanket drop from her shoulders, she marched forward into the grass, one arm raised in front of her to keep her from walking face-first into a tree.

She only made it two steps before Hero called out after her.

"Wait!" She stopped in her tracks - more from the fear of hitting a tree than his words, but regardless. "I'll help you."

"Really?" She frowned back at him. "Whatever happened to 'suicide mission'?"

"We are _not _running straight into their camp and being struck down by zombies." His tone left no room for argument. "No- we need to take out the ringleader."

"I thought he was too powerful to behold or whatever."

"With our current knowledge of him, taking him on ourselves would be unwise." Hero agreed. "But Orion is a being of _myths_ \- and a legendary individual, as you might guess, is chronicled in the legends." Footsteps followed her, off the stone and into the grass. "So the legends is where we will go." Olivia was silent for a few moments, aware of his presence directly behind her.

"...yeah I don't actually know what that means."

"It means we need to do some research." Taking her by the wrist, Hero turned and began to lead her back to her left. "Come. We are going to Ikaisal."

"Can we afford to just leave them here?" Olivia protested, but didn't resist. She was perfectly aware she had no other option.

"If we attack now, we die, and they are left at the mercy of Orion." Hero responded simply. "This gives them the highest chance of survival."

"Mm." Olivia cocked her head, focusing for a moment on the sounds of nature around the cave which had provided her shelter for a night.

_I'm coming, mom._


	8. Chapter 8

"We need to stop."

"We can keep going."

"_You _need a break. You're halfway to collapsing on your feet."

"_Halfway_." Olivia echoed, her voice clipped, as she strode down the pressed-dirt path. "We need to move as fast as possible, my family is in _danger_."

"A matter of a few minutes will not make a difference." Hero shot back. "Notch, more likely than not a few _days_ will not matter in the slightest."

"But what if it _does?_" Stubbornly, the blind girl pressed onwards, one hand on Hero's arm to keep her bearings. Hero sighed.

Then, out of nowhere, he turned and scooped her up into his arms.

"Hey!" Olivia squawked, immediately starting to struggle, but her captor held fast. "Put me down!"

"No." There was a note of amusement in his voice, and she hated it. "You need some time off your feet. If you insist that we keep going, then I'm going to carry you."

"No way." She kept squirming.

"You're going to hurt yourself."

"Put me down."

"No." She kicked at him. He didn't even flinch.

After a couple moments more, she gave up, focusing instead on his body as he carried her with ease. Reaching over, she touched the arm under her knees, running her hand up it until she hit his sleeve. He was really muscular. Well, he had to be to carry her so easily, she supposed. His skin had a number of long, thin marks. Scratches, maybe? No, too smooth, probably scars.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she touched his sleeve again.

"Trying to figure out what you look like."

"Ah." She trailed her fingers up his shoulder. His shirt was short-sleeved and thin, probably linen. Raising her hand higher, she touched his hair, which curled around his ears.

"What color is your hair?" She asked.

"Brown."

"Mm." Her hand travelled down to his cheek. It was scratchy, he had a thin beard. She moved her thumb towards his eyes, and he flinched, but didn't speak. She covered his eye, and felt his eyelashes brush her hand as he blinked.

"I can't see."

"Maybe you should put me down." She chirped in response. Instead, he shifted her weight and used his (relatively) free hand to grab her wrist, gently tugging it away from his face. She didn't fight it. Most people didn't like it when she touched their faces. "How old are you?"

"Almost 30, I believe." He responded. "And you?"

"24." He let out a hum of surprise.

"You look younger."

"Well, I wouldn't know, would I?" He chuckled.

"I suppose not." Olivia fell silent, and the pair was quiet as Hero carried her along. His feet were very steady, each step was smooth and regular.

Eventually, she lowered her head onto his shoulder. The gentle rocking that came from each step certainly didn't help her stay awake, and she was already tired. She could feel his heart beating in his chest, lulling her to sleep, and she fought the urge to doze off. She still wasn't particularly convinced about his intentions.

They travelled in silence for a long time, Hero occasionally adjusting his grip on her but never stopping for more than a moment. Doubts began to creep into Olivia's mind about him - she wasn't _that_ light, was she? He had to be incredibly sturdy to carry her for so long. Was he really a normal person?

On the subject of normal people, though, days of travel and lack of sleep took more of a toll on her than Olivia had expected. Despite her determination, she eventually drifted off to sleep in Hero's arms.

* * *

_The man's face was white._

_Deep, violet hair swirled around his head, dotted with shimmering stars. A purple-grey robe flowed from his shoulders, decorated with golden accents. Olivia stood stock-still, transfixed by his pitch-black eyes. Slowly, he extended a hand towards her, and she reached out to take it._

_**d? **__**リ**__**?**__**￢ﾄﾸ **__**̣ ᓭᒷᔑ∷ᓵ⍑ ⎓?**__**￢ﾈﾷ ⍑╎**__**ᒲ. Hᒷ ╎ᓭ ᒲ╎**__**リ**__**ᒷ **__**リ**__**?**__**￢ﾈﾴ**__**.**_

* * *

Olivia awoke with a start.

Immediately, her head popped up as she tried to get a sense of where she was. Crickets chirped around her, and blades of grass tickled her bare feet. A plain, maybe?

She reached out, planting one palm on the ground and pushing herself up. Hero must've eventually stopped to rest. Unless he had left her here? Holding her breath, she paused, tuning out the sounds of nature in order to find any sign of her guide.

Deep, peaceful breaths came from directly to her left.

Cautiously, she reached out, and her fingers brushed warm skin. She placed a hand on his arm, and felt the scars she had noticed earlier. It was him.

Lowering herself down again, Olivia curled up in the soft grass, leaning her head on her forearm. Despite the urgency of the situation, Hero was right in that they needed rest. They were no good to Mom and Isaac as sleep-deprived zombies.

Something clicked in her head, and she jerked up once more. It was nighttime. The crickets were chirping, and she couldn't feel the sun on her. Where were the mobs?

She whistled a high note. No echo. That implied they were in an open space, likely a field like she had previously guessed. Ordinarily, this space would be full of undead, waiting for their next victim to appear.

...so where were they? She couldn't hear a single one.

Slowly, warily, Olivia placed herself on the ground again, scooting closer to Hero's sleeping form. He could fight. If something bad were to happen, she wanted to be as close to him as possible.

When the sun finally rose, its' golden rays fell upon the wandering pair, curled up together in the tall grass dotted with sunflowers.


	9. Chapter 9

"What do you _mean_ you can't go in the city?"

"Exactly what I said." Hero responded, a note of exasperation in his voice. "I'm an outcast, remember? I'd be attacked and thrown out, at the very least."

"Then why did we walk all the way here?" Olivia threw her hands up in the air. "I obviously can't go in and do research by myself! I have no way to get my bearings! And I seriously doubt everyone in Ikaisal is as much as a sap as they were in Preosan!"

"I assumed I'd figure it out on the way over."

"Either that, or this was just a ploy to get me to stop trying to rescue my family."

"Why would I- okay, that's true, I would do that." Hero allowed. "But I _do_ genuinely want to do something about Orion. I'll find a way into the city, I just know I can't walk in within plain sight." Sighing, Olivia shifted, setting her chin in her palm. She could hear the faint sounds of the city from where she stood - Hero had told her it was at the bottom of the hill. It wasn't like she was really an expert on disguising one's appearance, but…

"Put this on." She ordered, reaching behind her head to untie her blindfold.

"What?" Hero sounded incredulous. "How will that help? I may as well just keep my eyes closed."

"Just try it." Pulling the cloth free, she offered it to him. "When I was younger, I played a game with a friend once, and we blindfolded her to be fair." She began, trying to explain. "I expected to win, easily, because I was used to being blind and she wasn't. However, she kept winning regardless. I eventually figured out that she could see through the cloth." Hesitantly, Hero plucked the blindfold from her grasp. Olivia waited as he tied it over his own eyes.

"I can see." He reported. "A bit. Enough."

"Good! Okay, let's go." Olivia stepped forwards, starting to make her way down the hill, but Hero's hand on her arm stopped her.

"Shouldn't you stay here? Your eyes are the same as mine."

"They are?" She stopped short. Was that the reason Mom wanted her to wear the blindfold so badly? "Um, that's interesting, but no, I'll just keep my eyes shut."

"Are you sure?" He pressed. "It could be dangerous if you lost concentration and forgot."

"I'll figure it out. Let's just go." Without waiting for an answer, Olivia pulled away and started down the hill once more. A beat passed, then Hero sighed, giving up the argument as he followed her down.

* * *

"Mythical creatures." Hero mumbled under his breath, accompanied by the sound of a page turning. Olivia didn't move, senses trained on the quiet library around them. She had been assigned a 'lookout' position, charged with making sure no one crept up on them. It was pretty easy since the library was almost silent, a fact she was eternally grateful for. When she was overwhelmed by the sounds of the city back in Preosan, the library had been her go-to place to hide for several years.

"Tsar Orion Davormond." Hero read aloud, his voice hushed to avoid being eavesdropped upon. "A warlord in the Aria region for several hundred years, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances during a small battle in an area rumored to be cursed. Those that remained of his armies dispersed without their leader, and his territories were split up between the others in the area."

"Several hundred years?" Olivia echoed. "So he isn't human?"

"Evidently not, as you may have gathered from his appearen-" Hero cut off, and there was a brief, awkward pause. "He does… not look like a standard human."

"Thank you very much for the intel."

"According to the book, rumors have circulated for centuries that he is still alive, but it has never been confirmed." More pages flipping. "This book was written about 30 years ago."

"He's obviously back now." Olivia leaned back in her seat, resting her head on the table Hero's book sat upon. "And back to doing warlord stuff. So what do we do with him?"

"Maybe if we could break his connection with the undead?" Hero mused. "Although, that may be impossible… it could be innate."

"Is he unkillable? Does the book say anything about his killability?"

"First of all, that isn't a word." He began tiredly. "Second, no. It doesn't mention anything of the sort."

"What about you? You said you knew his reputation - do you know his weaknesses?"

"If I did, would I have to go all the way here in search of them?" He snapped, and Olivia flinched back at his sudden aggressiveness.

"No need to yell."

"Right. You're right. I apologize." Another page flipped. "I do not."

"I guessed that." Scowling, Olivia turned, resting her chin on the back of her chair. "Do you know who else might possibly know?"

"Maybe a librarian? Or historian?"

"Oh, that's convenient! We're in a library! I'm sure we can find a librarian somewhere around here." Immediately, she began scanning for other sets of footsteps.

"Wait." Hero protested, his voice lowered to a whisper once more. "We can't just ask someone, what would they think about us? A pair of blind people looking for the weaknesses and secrets of a cryptic warlord?"

"Why not tell them the truth?" Olivia lifted her head to make a face at him. "He destroyed my city and I want payback."

"That doesn't make any sense! You're blind! You can't do a thing against an army of undead!"

"Alright, know what?" Sitting up straight, Olivia slammed her palm down on the table Hero sat at, causing him to hush her angrily. "I'm getting pretty tired of you acting like just 'cause I can't see that I'm somehow helpless."

"I'm not saying you're _helpless._" He hissed back. "I'm just stating facts. You _cannot_ defeat an army of undead _plus_ an ageless warlord by yourself, _especially_ without an entire one of your senses."

"It doesn't even _matter_ to me anymore that I'm blind!" She snarled. "I've been blind since birth. I've never known what it's _like_ to see. I grew up without it. I've adapted. It's _not-"_

"Wait." Hero interrupted, voice raised slightly to be heard over her. "You were born blind?" She scowled at him.

"Yes?"

"Is that- are you sure?" The frustration in his voice was gone, replaced by confusion. "So the scars on your face are unrelated?"

"Yeah, I was born with them. Can we get back to the topic at hand?"

"That isn't how scars work!" Hero protested, lowering his voice a bit. "Scars like those - I'm impressed you _survived _that, those wounds must've been horrible."

"No, I was just born with them." Olivia repeated, growing frustrated. "Can we go-"

"Olivia." He interrupted.

"Hero." She shot back.

"May I see your eyes?" She heard the legs of his chair grind on the wooden floor, and frowned.

"You can see them."

"May I take a closer look?"

"Sure?" She felt him get closer, and one of his hands cupped her cheek. She grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut as he touched one of her scars, following it across her eyelids as he leaned in closer. She could smell the scent of grass and flowers on him, probably because they had spent the night in the meadow.

...and smoke. She could still smell smoke.

"These are about 20 years old." He spoke at last, letting go of her face. "You are 23, correct?"

"24. How the heck would you know that?"

"It's obvious." Was his simple response. "Don't tell me you were born with these."

"But I _was._" She protested, hating the uncertainty that crept into her voice. Mom wouldn't lie to her. "You have to be mistaken."

"That doesn't even make any sense. And-" He cut her off as she tried to speak. "You asked me what color my hair was." She frowned. "One who was blind from birth - and, as such, had never seen color - would not even factor it in as an option."

"But why would they lie?!" She snapped, holding up her hands to make herself a bubble of personal space. "Why would my mom lie to me about that?"

"Maybe she was the one who did it to you." Olivia's mouth dropped open, her brow furrowing with rage, but Hero clapped a hand over her mouth before she could begin to shout.

"I'm not saying she tried to hurt you," He continued hastily, "but it's possible that you got hurt on her watch, or she dropped you, or something of the sort that caused you to be injured." Slowly, he removed his hand, and she was silent. "She could've been so wracked with guilt that she lied to you to cover up the truth." Shoving her anger at the accusation aside, Olivia considered this. It was… possible, she supposed, that his theory was true.

"I guess." She spoke at last, and he hushed her. "It doesn't really matter, though." She continued in a quieter voice. "My point still stands. I don't need to be able to see."

"Maybe you don't." He acknowledged. "Maybe you're just as capable as I am - when not exhausted and starving, anyway." She gave him a single nod. He wasn't wrong about that. "But others won't see it that way. Nether, I don't. If we just _ask _someone what Orion's weaknesses are, they're going to be confused at best, suspicious at worst."

"Then we can explain it to them."

"Look, you know I don't like people." Hero's voice was tired. "People don't like me. Please, can we drop this for now? I'll keep reading, see if I can find anything else about our enemy. We'll decide what to do next later, alright?" Olivia didn't answer for a moment, mulling over his words. It was true that most people treated her like a porcelain teapot, to be handled incredibly carefully lest she break. It wouldn't shock her if not a single person in this city was as willing to hear her out as Hero was.

"Alright." She answered at last.

They studied for the next couple of hours in silence.


	10. Chapter 10

"I'm still amazed that no one stopped us."

"Why would they stop us?" Olivia tugged at her new bandages, wrapped tightly around her battered feet. "As far as they know, we're just a couple of poor blind people."

"Precisely that." Hero protested. "Why would a pair of individuals without sight be wandering the city? And surely they would notice that I had far too much coordination to truly be blind-?"

"You're overthinking this." Flopping back onto her rented bed, Olivia pressed the hem of the blanket over her scarred eyes. It alleviated her nervousness somewhat, and she continued to speak. "People don't notice blind people, and, if they do, they leave them alone. At least, back in my city." Hero didn't respond, so she elaborated.

"People with permanent injuries are seen like children, I suppose. For the most part, I'm treated with pity or ignored altogether. If people don't have to interact with me, they won't. Unless they're obligated to do otherwise, they leave me alone." Hero still didn't speak, mulling over this 0for a moment.

"You don't strike me as the type to allow herself to become an object of pity."

"Oh, I don't try to." She scoffed, letting her hands fall to the bed. "That doesn't stop people from seeing me that way. They look at me, they see the blindfold, and suddenly I'm a dumb kid who can't take care of herself." She blinked, then lifted her head. "You can relate to that, can't you? Don't people judge you based on appearance?"

"They do." He confirmed. "I just… hm." He fell silent again, and Olivia busied herself smoothing the blanket of the inn's bed. After an exhaustive study of Orion and some other ancient beings, the pair had gone to a nearby inn for some rest. Luckily, Hero had emeralds, with which they were able to rent a decent-sized room to share. One with two beds.

Unfortunately, their time spent in the library had done them little good (and not even just because she couldn't read). They had learned nothing useful about Orion, nothing that could possibly be a weakness. All they'd gotten out of it was some trivia, the only thing that might be helpful being some rumors about a longstanding rivalry between him and some other ageless demigod. Unfortunately, no one had seen said ageless demigod in centuries, and Olivia thought it unlikely that he was actually still around.

At last, Hero broke the silence.

"I don't understand you."

"Eh?" She tilted her ear in his direction. "What do you mean?"

"You seem… what I have seen of you is…" He struggled momentarily to find the right words. "You are very stubborn. Strong-willed."

"Got that right."

"But it doesn't change how people view you?"

"Apparently not."

"Then why resist?" There was genuine confusion in his voice. "Why continue to… fight against the label you've been given?"

"To the Nether with them, that's why." Was the girl's blunt response. "I mean, though… what they say doesn't matter. That's _not _me. What they say about me doesn't affect who I am." She felt Hero's gaze on her, and neither of them spoke for a good few moments.

"I see." He said at last, even as his bewildered tone implied the opposite. Olivia heard the hiss of fabric against fabric, rustling as he laid down in his own bed. She heard a click as the lamp was turned off, and closed her own eyes, letting herself sink into the stiff mattress as she pondered Hero's questions. She could only assume he had a lack of social interaction, due to the everyone-hates-him thing, but was that the only thing that made him so… different?

Something was off about him.

* * *

"According to the map, the journey should take us about five days on foot." Hero stated, accompanied by the rustle of parchment. "A pity we couldn't find a ride, but…"

"Couldn't risk 'em seeing our eyes, right." Olivia marched alongside him, a knapsack full of food slung over one shoulder. "Whatever. We'll make it."

"I'm just glad I can see clearly again." Hero muttered. A pause, then, "Surely someone would've been suspicious about us buying a map-?"

"Nah. People don't care." After spending the night in the inn, the pair had purchased some food and set off for the Phoenix Kingdom. According to the texts they (Hero) had read, the city was located in the middle of Orion's old stomping grounds, and might have more info on the fabled warlord.

"If you say so." Olivia ignored him, keeping time with his footsteps beside her. So far the ground was fairly even, interspersed with clumps of grass. Unfortunately, it was less than likely to be easy footing the whole way. "What's the terrain like from here to there?"

"The map shows mountains, but our path goes around them. It shouldn't take too much longer, and it would be far more of a hassle to go straight across." Hero responded, twisting the parchment in his hands. "We will pass through a forest, but it should be mostly clear."

"That's not bad." The blind girl remarked absently. She was enjoying the fresh air - the air in the city was always tainted with a plethora of different scents, from burning coal to the food being sold in the marketplace. Such a mix was overpowering, and dulled her senses as she struggled to look past the stench.

"We should be within view of the mountains by tonight." Hero continued, apparently still studying the map. "We can make our 'camp' of sorts just inside the forest, out of sight of any travellers."

"What about mobs?"

"Mobs don't bother me." Hero dismissed her complaint. "They never have. They keep their distance - perhaps that's the only thing these eyes are good for."

"Maybe." Olivia raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment further, mentally tucking away the information to add to the growing list of weird-things-about-Hero.

The rest of their trek was long and uneventful. The pair walked in near-silence for hours on end, Hero occasionally warning her of a rock or other projection she needed to avoid. It was mind-numbingly dull, but Olivia busied herself fantasizing about shoving Orion's face into a mud puddle.

At long last, Hero announced that the sun was setting and that they should stop for the night. Fighting off the mild chill settling into her bones, Olivia obliged, and the pair shared a loaf of bread before lying down in the grass. She thought at first getting to sleep would be a chore, due to the cold and her aching muscles, but her exhaustion won out and she soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**C⍑╎ꖎ↸, ↸? ****リ****?****￢ﾄﾸ ****̣ ℸ ̣ ∷ ᓭℸ ̣ ⍑╎ᒲ. Hᒷ ╎ᓭ ****リ****?****￢ﾄﾸ ****̣ ∴⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭᒷᒷᒲᓭ.**


	11. Chapter 11

Olivia was dragged from her peaceful slumber by a pair of unfamiliar voices.

Her first instinct was to sit up, but forced herself not to move. An unfamiliar smell filled the air, of stale, unwashed clothing. A grimy hand brushed her, and she suppressed a grimace. Robbers? Where was Hero? Still asleep?

As inconspicuously as she could manage, the blind girl edged her hand towards where Hero had been last time she checked, searching for warm skin. She found it- his wrist. His breathing was peaceful and his pulse was strong, so he was asleep, but she needed him up and alert. There's no way she could fight the intruders on her own.

Tightening her grip, Olivia dug her fingernails into her escort's arm. This was the only way she could think of to wake him up without alerting the strangers. At least, hopefully.

"What…" A mumble came from Hero, and immediately the intruders fell silent. "What are you-" He stopped short, tearing his arm away as he scrambled to his feet. "Who are you?"

"D-don't move!" The voice was young and male, accompanied by the scrape of a blade against its' sheath. "Get on the ground!"

"I don't think so."

"Samuel!" A second voice hissed, and Olivia immediately flipped over, scrambling upright, but a pair of rough hands grabbed her arms and dragged her back into a firm surface.

"Ugh." Was all she managed before the edge of a knife was pressed to her throat.

"Let go of her." Hero ordered, voice even lower than normal. "What do you want?"

"Your money." The first voice was back, quivering with barely-suppressed nervousness. These two were hardly professionals. "Get down on the ground." A soft shuffle of fabric on dirt as he obeyed. Olivia never doubted for a moment that he would keep her safe, but a rush of relief went through her regardless.

"Let me get my emeralds." The pressure of the knife on her throat decreased as Hero opened his knapsack, rummaging through for the jewels.

"Just toss us the bag." The second voice was much stronger, far more serious. Also male, but probably older.

"Let her go first."

"No, you give us the bag first." The elder shot back. Hero scoffed, but didn't protest further, and Olivia heard the bag _thump_ to the ground beside her. The blade on her neck was removed, and a hand on her back shoved her back towards Hero. She immediately fell on her face.

"Now don't you two move." She heard shuffling as Hero dragged her upright, and she grabbed his shoulder for balance. Gently, he pried her hand away, and stepped forward. "I _said-_"

"You shouldn't have done that." Olivia took a step back at Hero's voice. It seemed to have dropped an octave, words forced out in a growl. She heard shuffling steps from her attackers, presumably backing away, as Hero approached them. A sharp gasp split the silence, and the younger one exclaimed,

"He's- that's-!"

"Get out. _Go._" The elder snapped, and Olivia felt pounding footsteps in the ground as the first one fled. She heard a _thud_ a moment later, and a choked cry as a body hit the ground.

"Hero." She called out, warning. "Let's just get our stuff and go."

"We can't-" A grunt. "Let him leave. We can't let people see us."

"There's an incredibly low chance that Orion would find out about us from him." Carefully, she slid her foot forwards, making her way in his direction. "Let him go." Silence. She took another step, then reached out, touching his arm - only to immediately yank her hand away. His skin was scorching hot. "What are- you're burning up, what the heck?"

"Fine." Another _thump, _then the thief scrambled to his feet and ran.

"What was that?" Olivia pressed, reaching out to touch his skin again. He was far cooler now, but still… abnormally warm. "Hero?"

"I don't _know_." He yanked his arm away. "I guess it has something to do with the eyes? I've started fires before by mistake."

"And you didn't feel the need to tell me this until now?"

"I didn't think it would be important!"

"Well- okay." Pressing her palms to her face, the brunette let out a breath. Neither of them spoke for a moment, and she slowly regained her awareness of her surroundings. Crickets were chirping nearby, hidden among the grass and flowers that rustled softly in the wind. Heat was still radiating off of Hero's body, a few inches in front of her, but otherwise the night was cool.

"Should we go?" Hero asked after a moment, voice returned to its' normal state. "As long as we're awake. It's nearly dawn."

"Yeah. Might as well." Sinking to the ground, Olivia patted the ground until she found her knapsack - lying on its' side with the contents spilled into the grass. "Did they take anything?"

"They left their spoils here as they fled, no." Hero followed suit, collecting his own bag and heading to her side.

"Good." She tore off a hunk of bread before sticking the rest back in her pack, sticking it in her mouth as she got to her feet. "Lead the way." She said, muffled through the bread. Hero obliged, and they began to walk again, leading their campsite behind with no trace of ever having stopped.

Except for a single emerald, glittering in the grass where it had fallen.


	12. Chapter 12

**(explodes through the wall like the kool-aid man) I AM HERE**

* * *

"Stop." Hero growled, and Olivia stopped in her tracks. She wasn't sure what the issue was until footsteps approached, passing by at a leisurely pace. A nudge from Hero signalled the all-clear, and they continued forward once more.

They had arrived in the capital city of the Phoenix Kingdom earlier that night, and were currently hunting for a place to get some rest. Due to the lack of light, Hero was able to get away with not being blindfolded, wrapping himself in a hooded cloak instead. Unfortunately, this meant they had to go about their way slightly more delicately.

"I can see an inn ahead." Hero murmured, and Olivia hummed in acknowledgement. Her legs ached from the strain of walking, but, at least after this trip her legs were gonna be _ripped_.

They approached the building, and Hero guided her to a lamppost, where he told her to wait while he purchased a room for the night. Apparently there looked to be some unscrupulous individuals just inside. Olivia agreed to wait, bracing her hand on the post to keep her bearings, and he left her alone on the street.

Tilting her chin up, Olivia focused on the sounds and scents of the city around her. It was quiet, not too unexpected due to the hour, but still out of the ordinary for such a large city. Voices travelled up and down the street towards her, and she could smell food from just inside the inn that Hero had entered.

The next thing she knew, a large hand had clamped over her mouth, and she was being dragged backwards from the street.

Instinctively, she tried to scream, but it came out muffled and choked with her mouth held shut. Her next move was to thrash, try to break her captor's hold, but a thick arm wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides. She was released, but only to be shoved face-first against a brick wall, hands snatching at the straps on her knapsack as it was torn off her body.

She heard voices, mutters from behind her as her captor(s) rummaged through her supplies. A hand pressed against her back, pinning her to the wall, and she rested her cheek against the bricks. A grimace twisted her face as the rough surface ground against her jaw.

"Who are you travelling with?" A man's voice snapped, accompanied by another shove into the wall.

"W-what?" Her voice shook as she tried to respond, much to her chagrin. "N-nobod-"

"_Who are you travelling with?!_" A second hand pressed against the back of her neck, forcing her chin up. "Don't think you can lie to me! A girl your age wouldn't dare travel cross-country on her own! Especially not blindfolded!" Fingers fumbled at the back of her head, untying the knot on her blindfold, and though she squirmed she could do nothing to keep him from slipping it off her face. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he spun her around, pushing her back against the wall and grabbing her by the chin.

Olivia grabbed at his wrist, trying to push him off her face, but he was far too strong, his hand squeezing her jaw as he forced her face up. For a couple moments, there was silence.

"Devil eyes." Came a voice at last. A hushed, second voice from behind the first.

"I can see that." The next sound she heard was a knife sliding from a sheath.

"No! Hey!" Olivia yelped, kicking out with one leg as she tried to wrench her chin away. She landed a kick on flesh, and managed to pull free, ducking out from under his grasp and running blindly from her assailants.

A hand grabbed her forearm, spinning her around and slamming her into the wall once more. Letting out a panicked cry, she threw her hands up in front of her face.

"Hey!" A new voice came directly from her left, and a force barrelled into the man holding her, causing him to crash to the ground.

Olivia sank to the ground, burying her head in her knees and guarding it with her arms. She listened as the new arrival chased away the bandits, who fled without much persuasion. As their footsteps faded off into the narrow alley, her rescuer approached her, quiet, careful steps making their way towards her.

"I believe this is yours, miss?" He set her knapsack beside her, leaning it against her knee, and she gave a small nod. "They're gone, don't worry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She replied, words muffled by her arms. "Th-think they tried to kill me."

"It looked that way. Here, let's get you upright." A hand brushed her arm, and she shakily accepted it, lifting her head and letting him help her up. "Oh- your eyes!" Immediately, her stomach sank as she remembered exactly why she had been attacked in the first place, and jerked her hand away. "I'm sorry, don't worry. This area is incredibly superstitious." He hurried to assure her. "I assume you've just arrived? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Y-yeah." Now that the danger was gone, the flow of adrenaline beginning to ebb away, tears began to well up in Olivia's eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her forearm over her face, and her savior let out a soft exclamation.

"Where are you staying?"

"M-my friend was r-renting a room in the inn." She stammered out. "J-just out there." She gestured in what was hopefully the direction she had come from."

"Okay. Come on." Taking her wrist and placing her hand on his arm, he began to guide her back down the alley. His hands were big, and calloused, but very gentle on her bruised arms. "I'm Steven, by the way."

"I'm Olivia."

"Pleased to meet you, even under the circumstances." Olivia managed a tiny smile.

"_Olivia!_" A shout captured her attention, and footsteps pounded on the cobblestone as Hero ran towards her. "What happened? I looked back out and you had disappeared, what-" He cut off, perhaps seeing Steven beside her. Her rescuer took the hint, releasing her, and she hurried back in Hero's direction. His hand grasped her arm, and he took her by the shoulder, pausing as she felt his eyes sweep over her body.

"Bandits." She managed to choke out, swiping away the remaining tears on her face. "Tried to kill me 'cause of the eyes."

"I'm sorry." His voice was genuinely apologetic. "I shouldn't have left you alone out there. This man…?" He trailed off, sounding a bit confused. Steven didn't answer for a moment, and Olivia wondered if she was supposed to explain. Finally, her savior spoke.

"Herobrine?"

"Steven." Hero's voice had dropped, his tone icy, and Olivia took a step back as she frowned.

"What are you- what are you doing here?" Steven demanded. "Not- not that I'm not happy to see you-"

"Save it." Hero growled. Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"You two know each other?

"Unfortunately." Her escort hissed, and Steven took a step closer.

"Who is she?"

"A friend." Hero's hand seized her by the forearm, pulling her closer even as she scowled at him. "If you tell anyone that we're in town-"

"I won't, I promise." Steven agreed hastily. "But-?"

"What's your deal? He saved my life." Olivia broke in. "Why are you so mad?"

"_Steven_," Hero spat. "Is my younger brother."


	13. Chapter 13

"Only by two minutes." Was Steven's muttered response.

"Wait, brother?" Olivia echoed, turning her head back in Hero's direction. "I thought you said you didn't have any family."

"I don't." Hero snapped. Ouch. "Come on." He started to tug her back in the direction of the inn.

"Whoa, wait." Olivia protested. "If he's your brother, why-?"

"That's a long story." He cut her off.

"Then tell me! And for Notch's sake stop _dragging_ me!"

"Hero, stop." Steven's voice had a pleading note to it, and his brother reluctantly obeyed. "This isn't a safe area of town. Come stay the night with me."

"Absolutely not."

"For miss Olivia's sake." He continued. "You know this isn't a safe place, and this inn is notoriously bad. You left her for a moment, and she was almost killed. Even if you refuse, let me take her to a safe place."

"I like how you assume I trust you."

"Hero." Olivia broke in, letting her exhaustion seep out into her voice. "You said yourself there were some suspicious people in the inn. I really don't want to get murdered." Hero huffed, but didn't protest, hesitating for a moment.

"Very well." He said at last. "Lead the way."

"Alright." She could hear the relief in Steven's voice. "Follow me." He started to retreat, and Hero moved Olivia's hand to his arm as he started to follow.

They made their way through the streets for about 15 minutes, Olivia noticing the hubbub of the city decreasing steadily as they went. The stones underneath her became stone bricks at some point, which was slightly easier on her aching, bandaged feet.

Eventually, they turned and climbed a small staircase to a building, into which Steven directed them. His house. It was built out of wood, and a bit cramped, but enough to house him well enough.

And a wife.

A woman's voice greeted them as they entered, Steven immediately taking her aside to talk to her. Olivia caught the words "my brother" as Hero herded her over to a couch, sitting down and holding her close to his side. Despite him saving her, and the comforting aura he gave off, Olivia was starting to pick up on his suspicion towards his brother.

"I'm Alex." The woman introduced herself, and Olivia lifted her head as she crossed the room towards them. "Can I offer you something to eat?" She hesitated for a moment, but Hero didn't respond, so she answered,

"Something to drink, please."

"Of course." Alex stepped away, and the blind girl tilted her head towards Hero.

"Is there a good reason I shouldn't trust him?" She asked in a hushed whisper. "He did save my life."

"You're like me." Was his quiet response. "Trust is more than he deserves."

"That's cryptic." Alex approached again, guiding a glass of water into Olivia's hand. She accepted it with a nod.

"We don't have a lot of room," Steven's wife told them, "But you're welcome to sleep on the couch, and I can bring some pillows and blankets down for you."

"Thank you." Olivia responded meekly. While her tendency was to refuse what she perceived as pity, she was still shaken from being attacked, and kindness from a stranger was more than she'd grown to expect in the past week or so. As she sipped from the glass, she noticed a lack of Steven's footsteps or voice. Where was he?

"Did you know he was here?" She murmured as Alex walked away again.

"In this city? Yes, but I didn't think we'd run into him." He shifted, getting to his feet. "You sleep on the couch, I'll sleep on the floor here."

"Okay." Curling up to warm her feet underneath her, Olivia drank the rest of the water before lowering her head to the arm of the couch. Footsteps approached, and a blanket was laid over her body.

"Steve and I will be upstairs." Alex told them. "If you need something, yell, okay?" Olivia nodded, curling up into the blanket.

"Goodnight, Herobrine." Hero only grunted, and she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep before the minute was up.

* * *

**W⍑| ᔑ∷ᒷ ||𝙹 ∷ リリ╎リ⊣ ⎓∷𝙹ᒲ ᒲᒷ?  
**

* * *

Olivia startled awake.

Gasping, she pushed herself upright, momentarily not sure where she was.

"I'm sorry." A whisper reached her ears, and her head jerked around. "Did I wake you up?"

"Huh?" She managed, and the voice hushed her.

"Hero's still asleep." It was then that she placed the voice- Steven. The crackle of flame accompanied his voice, a candle.

"Not sure." She whispered. "What time is it?"

"Late. I came down to check on you two." She could hear the wince in his voice. "Sorry I woke you."

"I don't think it was you." She admitted. "I've been having odd dreams."

"Oh." His voice was a bit more relieved. "I'll leave you alone." He only made it a step before she interrupted.

"Wait." He halted. "Can I ask you about… Herobrine?"

"Oh, I- suppose." A shuffle as he took a step closer. "Here, let's move away from him a bit. I don't want to wake him." She nodded, pushing the blanket off of her, and Steven's hand found hers. Carefully, he led her away from Hero's motionless body, across the room to the staircase. "What did you want to know?" He whispered, sinking down onto one of the steps and pulling her gently down beside him.

"Why he hates you so much, to start." It came out a bit bluntly, and she hesitated before going on. "You… had entirely different reactions to one another."

"That would be my fault." Steven released her hand, letting out a soft chuckle. "Um… let me start from the beginning."

"Okay." Leaning back on her hands, Olivia closed her eyes.

"Hero and I are twins. He's the older twin, and he always made sure I knew that." He laughed again, but it was sad. "He was born with blank eyes, like yours. As I mentioned, people around here are superstitious. Given your appearance, I'm guessing you've heard the legends…?"

"I don't think so." She whispered back. "My mother's always told to keep my eyes covered - the bandits stole my blindfold - but she didn't tell me why."

"That's… oh." He hesitated, then began. "There are stories about an entity, one that goes by many names, who is reborn in a child whenever it dies. Said child is always born with blank eyes. The creature is supposed to have some longstanding rivalry with another immortal, and with every life tries to kill it. Humans are always caught in the crossfire.

"I've heard a few stories of children with blank eyes who were killed at birth, to avoid any risk of the creature growing up there. Herobrine was lucky compared to them, he survived - obviously - but his upbringing was… harsh." His voice lowered. "He was treated poorly by everyone, even our parents. I loved him, he was my brother, so I tried my best to stick up for him. He always tried to protect me. He was a good kid." He gave another stilted chuckle. "If only I hadn't ruined it.

"Being my brother's best friend meant that no one else would give me a second glance. When we turned fourteen, he grew… angry. He hated the world, he hated everyone around him, and he started to take his anger out on me. He was never violent, just… easily upset. I got tired of this pretty quickly. I'd longed for other friends for years, and now that I was a young, emotional teen, I decided I was fed up. So I gave up on him.

"If that was the worst of it, maybe he could've forgiven me. But I went one step further. I was cruel to him to gain the trust of others my age, joined the mobs of kids who would hurl insults and spit in his direction." Steven's voice had dwindled to a miserable whisper with every admittance, obviously ashamed of what he'd done. "Called him a monster."

Olivia stayed quiet, playing back what Hero had told her about his brother.

"When we were seventeen, he was cast out of the city." He continued at last. "Tension had been building for our entire lives, and finally the other shoe dropped. First it was formal, a notice sent to him to inform him that he was no longer welcome here, then they chased him out with weapons when he refused to leave. At this point, I knew I'd screwed up, but he refused to have anything to do with me. One day he was there, then the next he was gone.

"Today was the first time I've seen him since then." A wistful tone entered his voice. "I suppose he's spent the last eight years dwelling on what I've done, while I spent them wishing I'd stuck by him."

"Oh." Olivia whispered. "Poor guy."

"Yeah."

"Has there… been anything like that here again? Did his presence leave a lasting effect on the city?"

"Other than the babies I mentioned who were killed, I don't think so." His voice saddened again. "I grew up, got a job, and got married. I don't think anyone really remembered who I was once Hero was gone."

"Does your wife hate him?"

"No. I don't think so." He amended. "I've told her about him before, told her what happened to him. I think she pities him."

"That's a step in the right direction, at least." Steven hummed his acknowledgement, and their conversation dwindled into silence. "I have one more question." She broke it, before it could get too heavy. "Where did his name come from? His name is… very strange compared to yours."

"I suppose." Steven chuckled. "'Hero' is what they hoped he would be. My parents, that is. But every misbehavior they would attribute to the entity, and they grew to be as cruel to him as everyone else. And 'Brine'- it's one of the more common names the entity goes by."

"Oh." She hesitated for a moment. "I suppose that's why he never told me his full name, then."

"He hates it." Steven replied softly. "Or, at least, he did when I was younger. People would hurl his name at him like an insult, He wanted to be a hero, so badly, but the world got to him over time. I wish I could've done something. Notch, I still wish I could. But… at this point, I at least can do nothing." Olivia gave a small nod.

"Oh."

"He seems to trust you, though." There was a questioning note to his voice, and she nodded again.

"He started talking to me because I was blind, I couldn't see his eyes. When my city was attacked, and I was kidnapped, he saved me."

"You-" There was a startle in his voice, which he quickly lowered back to a whisper. "That's terrible. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. We're gonna rescue the rest of my people." She nodded towards where Hero slept. "The leader of the undead is some kind of demigod, and we're trying to find his weakness. We're going to go back and kill him."

"I wish you the best of luck." There was a smile in his voice, and she smiled back.

"I should let you go back to bed."

"I- right, here." He took her hand again, leading her carefully back to the couch. "I'm sorry for keeping you up. Goodnight, Olivia." He gave her hand a squeeze, then retreated, his footsteps growing quieter as he ascended the stairs.

Olivia lay awake for a long time, staring up at the ceiling with sightless eyes until the darkness claimed her once more.


	14. Chapter 14

Olivia awoke to Hero's growl.

"All of it." She flinched at the voice, starting to move, but stopped short upon hearing him continue. "What did you hope to gain from that? To steal her away to _your _side?"

"Of course not." Steven. "She asked, so I told her. I didn't mean anything by it. And my side is the same as y-"

"_Don't_ lie to me." Hero snarled. By now, Olivia had gathered the context. Hero hadn't been asleep last night.

"If you heard, then you know how sorry I am." Steven's voice was soft, almost pleading. "How much I regret what-"

"_Regret_ will not give me back _three years _of my life!" The younger tried to respond, but was cut off by the _smack _of flesh striking flesh.

"_Hey!"_ A female voice, Alex, followed by rapid footsteps. "Listen, I don't care who you are-"

"Alex, it's alright." Steven tried to cut in, but he was ignored.

"I don't care _who _you are, _no one_ strikes my husband!"

"Do you think that I am afraid to hit a woman?"

"Hey. Hey!" Olivia broke in, shoving herself upright. The argument went silent. "Fighting solves… nothing." Rubbing at her eyes, she swung her feet over the side of the couch and stood up. "Hero, let's go."

"This is none of your concern." Hero snapped.

"Yes it is." She shot back. "_You're_ my concern." He hesitated, and she took a step in his direction. Not sure of his location, she didn't move any further, and there were a few moments of heavy silence. Finally, he growled, and one of his hands took her by the wrist.

"Fine. We're leaving." Pulling her with him, Hero started in the direction of the door.

"Wait." Alex interrupted. "Take these." Her escort stopped, releasing her, and Olivia froze in her tracks. She wasn't sure what the woman was offering them until she felt Hero's hands on her face, gently pressing soft fabric over her eyes.

"They're thin enough so that you should be able to see through them." Steven spoke up softly as Hero tied the blindfold behind her head. "But should hide your eyes."

"So that you won't suffer from association with me."

"You know that's not it." A sad sigh followed his words. "Goodbye. I hope you find what you're looking for."

"I hope I never see you again." Hero hurled back. The next thing she knew, Olivia was being dragged out the door and down the stairs.

"Ouch," she complained as she stepped on the side of her foot. Hero didn't respond.

The pair walked in silence for a little while, making their way down the stone-brick street. It was early in the morning, Olivia could still smell the dew in the air, and the sounds of merchants preparing their trades could be heard all the way down the street.

"Why didn't you ask me?" Hero asked, jerking her from her thoughts. His voice was no longer a growl, now it was almost sad.

"Convenience." Was her response. "I planned to ask you, your brother just-"

"He's not my brother." He interrupted.

"I can see why you feel that way." Gently, Olivia extracted her wrist from his grasp, placing her hand on his arm instead. "Can see why you hate him so much." Hero only grunted in response.

They kept walking. Olivia felt the sun begin to peek over the buildings, warm rays filtering over her tired body. She shivered, clutching her free arm to her chest in the early-morning chill.

"Did he tell the truth?" She spoke at last, catching Hero's attention. "You heard his story. Is there anything about it you would change?" Her escort contemplated this for a moment, silent.

"No." He answered quietly. "He told the truth."

"You believe him when he says he's sorry?"

"I told him already, _sorry_ doesn't make up for what he did to me." The venom had returned to his tone, and she adjusted her grip on his forearm.

"I think that if you gave him the chance, he would do whatever you wanted to make up for it."

"He's not getting another chance." Hero snapped. "You don't understand, he was _all I had._ He was the only one I had in the world, and he _tore that away_ from me."

"He was a kid!"

"So was I!" His tone was becoming decidedly upset. "How can you take his side?!"

"I'm not taking his side! Or yours, for that matter!" Stopping in her tracks, Olivia turned to face him, planting her feet when he tried to tug her forwards. "I'm acknowledging that you had an awful childhood. An awful _life._ Your br- Steven made it worse." Hero didn't interrupt, so she pressed onwards. "It messed you up. It messed him up too. But dwelling on your anger isn't going to solve anything, it'll just take up mental energy and keep you from focusing on other things."

"Make your point." He growled.

"My point is, stop sulking over him. You can't change the things in the past, so don't dwell on them. Your future is the only thing you can change." Hero didn't respond. After a few moments, he sighed, releasing his grip on her wrist.

"You're eloquent for your age, you know that?"

"I'm aware." Olivia preened. Taking her hand, he set it on his arm, and they started forwards once more.

"You're right in that focusing on my anger does not help me move forward." He began, his voice quiet. "But it keeps away some of the alternatives."

"What do you mean?"

"Some feelings are far worse than anger." She didn't quite know how to respond to that. "Anyway," He continued. "We should get to the library. I know the area, so it shouldn't take long."

"Okay." For the rest of the walk, Olivia simply hung onto his arm, quietly mulling over everything that she had just heard.


	15. Chapter 15

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* * *

"Keep up." Hero hissed, keeping a hand firmly on Olivia's wrist.

"I'm _sorry_ if I can't move as quickly as you!" The blind girl hissed back, scowling as she was jostled by the crowd they passed through. "As you may have noticed, I don't know the way!"

"You don't have to know the way, you just have to follow me!"

"I don't want to fall on my face!"

"I'd catch you!"

"Sure you would!"

"I'm _holding onto _you, so I'd- okay, forget it." Olivia felt them break free of the crowd, followed by Hero's grip relaxing significantly. "Alright, we're almost there."

"Okay." Drifting along behind him, Olivia turned away from his hand on her wrist, trying to get an idea of her surroundings instead. They had moved away from the marketplace, and the stench of the city grew more and more vile as they headed towards what she assumed was the industrial area. The smell of burning coal hung heavily on the streets, along with the faint smell of charged redstone. Redstone was an odd smell, like the air after a thunderstorm.

Hero still seemed to be upset. He was always quiet, and usually grumpy, but since they had run into his brother he had been even more so. He yelled more, and held onto her a bit tighter. Although, come to think of it, maybe her near-death experience factored into that too.

Their visit with his brother was on her mind as well. Steven meant well, at least, that's how she perceived him, and she found herself wishing she could somehow repair the relationship between him and Hero. Hero listened to her, sometimes, maybe she could talk him into giving his brother another chance. Someday.

"Here we are." A tug on her arm brought her attention back to the present, and Hero slowed as they came to a flight of stairs. Carefully, she made her way up, noting the transition between the rough cobblestones to smelted, polished stone.

She _really _needed to get some shoes.

As soon as the heavy doors closed behind them, a hush fell over her senses, sounds and smells dulled by the cedar-log walls. Slipping his hand into hers, probably to make it look less like she was a hostage, Hero moved towards the bookshelves in search of more information.

"Excuse me." A low, female voice stopped him in his tracks. Frowning, Olivia tilted her head in their direction. A librarian? "Might I ask what is the purpose of the eye coverings?"

"It's a religious garment." Hero lied easily, even before Olivia had a chance to panic. "We're in mourning."

"Of?"

"Isn't that a bit of a personal question?" Hero turned away, tugging Olivia with him and leaving the woman behind. She didn't question them further, but Olivia leaned close to hiss out,

"She definitely suspects something."

"I could tell." Hero grumbled in response. "One of us must've been spotted - well, you were, for certain. I'm… surprised those bandits spread the story, though."

"Mm." She wasn't really sure why, but she didn't argue. Hero slowed as he neared a bookcase, releasing her hand, and she heard a book slide from the shelf as he began to read.

* * *

The library was hardly empty, but that didn't make it any less peaceful. If anything, the _hush _of pages turning added to the subtle ambience, reminding Olivia of the many afternoons she had spent curled up in the corner of her library back home.

A stab of loss went through her, and she shook her head a bit. Time to change the subject.

She had almost dozed off while Hero was reading, due to a combination of the relaxing atmosphere and a lack of sleep the previous night. So far, Hero had found nothing - or, at least, that's what she gathered from the fact that he hadn't spoken.

Olivia rested her chin on her arm, leaning over the table that they had chosen for a temporary base. She could feel the subtle itch of eyes on her, and tried her best to ignore it. It wasn't like it was anything new.

"Olivia." Hero murmured, and she jumped. Tilting her head towards him, she lifted her chin a bit. "I have good news, and bad news."

"Spill."

"The good news is, Orion can be wounded, and presumably killed."

"I'm guessing the manner of wounding is super obscure and/or difficult?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She could hear the roll in his eyes. "Apparently his skin is as tough as dragon scales, rendering him near-invulnerable to traditional methods of harm. He does, however, have a weak spot. We don't, however, know where that weak spot is."

"Ah. Cool. Great." The blind girl hesitated for a moment, processing this. "Are there any clues as to where it might be?"

"Well," Hero started, "Probably not in an area that would be vulnerable on a human, which is to say the face, head, chest, stomach. I say that because that is undoubtedly where he has been struck hundreds of times by those hoping to take him down. It is also unlikely that it's a finger or other less-essential extremity, as it is quite unlikely that he would die from a cut on the finger."

"Good logic. I like that." Olivia gave him a thumbs-up. "So, maybe on the back of the leg? That seems to be a sort of happy medium."

"Maybe." Hero agreed. "The book states that he was found wounded, bloodied, but evidently the source was unknown. Whoever hurt him must have been slain shortly after."

"Pity."

"I can try to find any more information here, or we-" And then he cut off. Olivia lifted her head an inch, senses immediately on edge as she searched for an assailant. Nothing. The library was quiet.

When he spoke again, his voice was very low.

"Do you smell smoke?"

"Yeah." She responded easily. "I always do. You smell like smoke."

"_Other _than me." The tone in his voice made her pause, sitting up straight in the plush chair. The only thing she sensed was the musty smell of books.

And then there was a _crash_ as the doors were slammed open, and smoke began to fill the huge building.

"Now I do!" She yelped, shoving her chair over in her haste to get to her feet. The building was beginning to fill with shouts, and she could hear pounding footsteps as the once-calm library quickly descended into chaos. "What's going on?"

"Buildings outside are burning." Hero snatched up her wrist, pulling her past the table and towards the doorway. "I don't know what caused it, but I'm afraid that-"

The rest of his words were lost on her as a zombie's groan sounded from just outside.

The next thing she knew, she was being scooped up and thrown over Hero's shoulder as he started to run. It was hardly a comfortable arrangement, but she couldn't even open her mouth to complain. She only dimly heard flames hissing and spitting around her, along with the groans and moans of the undead as they overtook the city.

"Th-this i-is O-Orion." She stammered out. "J-just like m-my c-city."

"I guessed that." He snapped. "Can you run?"

"U-uuhh I have n-no idea."

"Better hope you can." Skidding to a stop, he swung her back down onto her feet, and she just managed to clasp his hand in hers before they took off running again.

All she could focus on was how his hand felt just like Isaac's.

Dimly, she became aware of zombies groaning ahead of them, getting rapidly closer.

"I-is this a good idea?" She yelped.

"We need to get to Steven's house."

"Wh. What?" Olivia almost tripped at the revelation. "I thought-?"

"I still _despise_ my brother." Hero snapped. "But his wife and daughter are innocent."

"He doesn't have a daught-" Olivia cut off as the pieces fit themselves together in her head. "Alex is pregnant?"

"Yes!" An arrow whizzed past her head. "We're almost there."

"How do you know if the baby's a-"

"I think we have more important things to worry about at the moment!" Finally, he skidded to a stop. Pulling her hand up and pressing it to something wooden, Hero barked,

"_Stay._" And let go, his footsteps and aura disappearing into the noise and smoke.

Clutching the wooden pole, Olivia slid down to her knees, pressing her mouth into her sleeve in an attempt to filter out the smoke. She hated, _hated _being left alone here, even though she knew Hero couldn't drag her with him to try and help his brother and sister-in-law. Burying her nose in the fabric of her shirt, she curled into a ball, trying to block out the screams and the feeling of heat against her skin.

The next thing she knew, a cool hand was draped over her shoulder.

Letting out a muffled yelp, she lashed out, flailing at what must be a zombie standing over her. Instead of hitting rotting flesh, however, a thin hand caught her hand in its own.

"My my, they've left you all alone out here, have they?" Her mouth dropped open, and an uninvited tremble coursed through her body.

"O-Orion."


	16. Chapter 16

Olivia didn't move a muscle as Orion knelt down beside her, pressing a cold hand to her cheek.

"My dear, you're shaking. Let's get you away from all this, shall we?"

"H-heck no." Finally forcing her stiff limbs to move, she smacked his hand away, shaking like a leaf as she scrambled back. "What the heck do you want with me?"

"Do you recall our first meeting?"

"How could I forget?"

"Then surely you must recognize that my purpose here is the same."

"I- you wanna- ha. You want me to prove I can live?"

"Precisely."

"So gallivanting across the country and trying to find your weakness isn't good enough?"

"Hardly so."

"You're i-impossible to please." She scoffed, hands curling into fists as she tried to slow the trembling. "So wha- what now? You kill me?"

"Not yet."

"For _Notch's_ sake, make up your mind! I'm pretty sure it's been 24 hours!"

"Oh, of course. Your sentence has been… extended. If, solely because I find you to be an _incredibly_ interesting specimen."

"Remember when I a-asked if you were a person?" She stammered out. "I know the answer now."

"I'm sure. But tell me, young miss, why _should _I spare you? What have you done that warrants my trust in your ability to serve humanity?" Olivia didn't answer for a few moments, chest heaving with shallow breaths. Her mind was racing, overwhelmed by the sheer number of _no good bad things _going on, but one thought stood out from the rest.

Lurching forward, she spun and slammed her elbow into Orion's face.

She heard a _thump _as he fell backwards, then nothing. Her opponent didn't make a sound, at least, nothing she could hear above the crackle of the flames. The trembling began again. There was _no way _she'd knocked him out with that strike, right?

Orion's laugh pierced through the static sound of the fire as it crept ever closer.

"Oh, you have _spirit!_" He exclaimed, a note of pride in his voice as he made his way back upright. "There is hope for you yet. For this, I bestow upon you an answer to another question, as well." Olivia scowled through chattering teeth.

"Not interested."

"I didn't ask." The next instant, a freezing hand took her by the chin, and her body seized as Orion leaned down to whisper in her ear,

"_Your brother is alive._"

And then a horrible, burning sensation shot up her arm from where he touched her, overwhelming her senses until the only thing she could understand was the sound of her own screams.

* * *

"Hero-"

"_Don't _talk." Hero snapped, ignoring his brother behind him as he slipped an arm across Alex's back. "Come on. You can interrogate me later." He almost expected a retort from his brother's fiery wife, but the only sound to come from her was a soft cough. A glance at her face caused a spike of alarm to go through him, her eyes were glazed and her jaw slack.

"Get her out of the city, now." He practically shoved the woman at his brother, who caught her easily. "I need to get Olivia, then I'll follow. I'll meet you outside-"

And then an awful scream cut through the air.

His feet were pounding against the cobblestones before he fully realized what he was doing, all he knew was that he _knew that voice _and he _left her alone, again_, and if she was hurt he would _never _forgive himself and-

Spinning around a corner, he caught the barest glimpse of a flash of blue and purple before it disappeared into the smoke - leaving behind a shuddering, crumpled body on the side of the road.

"_Olivia!_" Tuning out the sounds of humans and undead around him, he sprinted down the sidewalk towards her, he skidded to his knees at her side, only to find her white, sightless eyes staring blankly into the distance. Quiet, breathy gasps punctuated each shudder, and a patch of yellowish skin ran up her arm to her neck. Her blindfold was gone.

"Olivia! _Hey!_" He grabbed her by the shoulder - the uninjured one - and she jerked up with a yelp. Teeth chattering, a series of disjointed sounds escaped her lips.

"H-Hero, O-O-Ori-ion."

Slipping his arms underneath her, he scooped her up, walking as quickly as he could without jostling her too much. For once, she didn't complain.

His vision strayed to the strip of pale skin, the only physical evidence of the scream she had made. It resembled frostbite, almost. Did Orion have power over the cold-?

"Hero!" A voice called out, and he looked up to see Steven scanning the crowds for his form. Alex was huddled at his side, breathing through a damp cloth in lieu of fresh air. Turning his eyes back to his charge, he ignored his brother, focusing on getting Olivia out of danger as soon as possible.

The smoke billowed harmlessly around his head, but Olivia would undoubtedly be affected. He wished he could find some sort of covering for her mouth and nose, but there was no time to stop. To his surprise, though, the girl appeared to have the same train of thought, jerky hands pulling the neck of her shirt over her face despite the panic that held her body in its clutches..

He could hear the undead, wandering the city around them as they searched for their next victim, but not a single one considered picking him as a target. Except for the townspeople that fled the city around him, he was undisturbed, making his way through the chaos like a mourning-dove in a storm.

Before he knew it, they were out.

Hero quickly took Olivia and slipped away, fleeing to the edge of a nearby forest to escape prying eyes. He had seen Steven make it out, his wife in tow, which offered him a bit of relief among the madness.

Finally getting a chance to examine her safely, Hero laid his charge down in a patch of moss and began to investigate the site of the frostburn. The skin was beginning to turn an ugly black, and her whole body shook as though terrified. She was _freezing._

So, Hero did the only reasonable thing to do. He nestled her shivering body into his arms and hugged her tight.

He was careful to keep his temperature regulated, afraid of burning her by mistake - which would hardly solve the problem. He knew that body heat was one of the most effective ways to quickly warm a freezing person, but he was… different. Physically, structurally different. At the very least, though, it seemed to be working.

After maybe fifteen minutes, Olivia's tremors dropped to a level at which he almost couldn't feel them anywhere. She had yet to try and speak again, but her blank eyes were closed, shallow breaths slowly becoming longer and deeper. She was falling asleep. And, as she didn't seem to be too badly injured, he let her.

* * *

Olivia awoke to the feeling of a high fever.

She let out a whine, pressing one hand to her forehead - or, trying, at least. Her hands seemed to be stuck.

"Good morning." She scowled at the voice beside her ear, trying to shift and get a better idea of her surroundings.

"H-he-ero?" Her voice shook, and she let out a muffled groan. She was freezing, but uncomfortably warm at the same time. "W-whatms-"

"Do you remember anything?" Her cheek was pressed against his shoulder, his arms locked around her body.

"O-Orion." She managed, thinking dimly back to the attack. "You're t-too h-hot." He let out a strained chuckle.

"I'm sorry, but you're half-frozen. I'm trying to keep you warm."

"Ah. C-cool." Olivia felt her cheeks heat up as she realized just what her situation was. She didn't… even remember the last time she was this close to someone. She squirmed a bit, but only to settle her head against his arm. She knew he was just trying to help.

"D-did people m-make it out? Steve okay?" She questioned.

"I don't know how many deaths there were, but the city was not lost. The armies rallied and managed to drive off the undead, they're currently working on putting out the fires." He paused, and she was about to ask after his brother again when he resumed. "Steven and his wife are fine."

"That's good." Olivia let out the words in a breath, rubbing at her left arm. The skin felt oddly stiff. "W-what happened to my arm?"

"Frostbite." Hero's voice dipped lower. "Orion's doing, I assume, along with your current state."

"O-oh." The raging temperatures in her body were starting to calm down, evening out at a more comfortable level. "H-how long's it been?"

"About an hour since Orion attacked you."

"Ah." Shifting again, she pressed her face into his sleeve, trying to relieve some of the pressure on her aching head. He smelled like smoke.

It couldn't have been a coincidence that Orion showed up here. Had he followed her? _Her_ in particular? That was not only terrifying, that a creature of such immense power refused to leave her alone, but also saddened her. People had died, lost their homes, and it was her fault.

"It's okay." Hero gave her a small squeeze, and she jumped. That was _not _what she expected from her cranky, yell-y, drag-around-y bodyguard.

"Th-thanks." She huffed out a small breath. "W-what d-do we do…?"

"We'll think about that later." Hero's voice was low, he sounded tired. "For now, we should rest."

She dropped the subject. "Okay."


	17. Chapter 17

**One person: (leaves a review)**  
**Me: well GOLLY I guess I better UPDATE THEN!**

* * *

The city was, actually, in pretty good shape for having been attacked by an immortal warlord and his army of living dead.

Olivia sat in the tall grass of the field the city had fled to, leaning back on her hands as she listened to the chatter from the citizens behind her. She had heard from Hero, who heard it from Steven, who heard it from - well, who knows, that the undead had been pushed back from the city, fleeing as the cloud of fog that had shielded them disappeared. Orion was nowhere to be found, and the soldiers had gotten to work putting out the fires. Apparently, the damage was minimal. And, best of all, Alex was perfectly fine.

Somehow that was more chilling, because it implied that Orion had come to the city for the sole purpose of coming to talk to her.

Footsteps crunched in the grass behind her, and as she tuned back into her surroundings she felt a familiar presence draw near.

"Hero."

"Olivia." He lowered himself down beside her, and she tilted her head in his direction. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." The response came automatically. Her fingers curled around the grass beneath her, absently noting how it scratched against her palms.

"How does your arm feel?" She took a moment to check, dragging her fingertips across the patch of scarred skin.

"Still numb."

"Ah." He sounded disappointed. She didn't respond. For a moment, they just sat there, a muted silence settling over their forms as the smell of smoke and burning flesh drifted past with the wind.

"What did Orion do to you?" Hero broke the silence eventually. "Do you remember?"

"Yeah." She trailed a fingernail across the site of the frostburn. "He said some creepy stuff about how I had promise, and I was interesting, or something, and that's why he let me live. He didn't really give a reason for half-freezing me to death. Oh," She tilted her head back a bit. "He said Isaac's alive."

"Isaac?" Hero echoed. "Your brother?"

"Mhm." Olivia gave him a nod. "And he's either straight up lying to me, or the only reason he's been left alive is as some sort of bait. Not exactly a win-win situation."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing, I guess. What can I do?"

"I- I suppose just what you have been doing. But surely you don't plan to just abandon him? Don't you care?"

"I'm not abandoning him." Olivia spat. "That's not- you're the one that keeps stressing how weak and helpless I am. But of course I care about him, he's my brother." A thought occurred to her, and she mumbled, "But I guess I can see how that's something you don't understand." Hero didn't respond.

The wind was cool as it caressed her face, the scent of the forest soothing her smoke-deadened senses. She shivered, hugging her arms to her chest. It was chilly, but she preferred the cold to the heat.

"What do we do now?" Hero asked softly. She hesitated for a moment to formulate a response.

"I guess we go to another city and try to research some more."

"Not ready to give up yet?"

"Not by a long shot."

"I'm glad." And for once, he did sound glad. "Because I've had another idea for what we could do."

"Oh?" She cocked her head at him.

"Rather than searching for a weakness that will allow us to bring him to our level, we can find someone who's as powerful - or more powerful - than him."

"That's- good in theory, but where are we supposed to find someone like that? Except for Orion, there haven't been super-powerful godlike beings around for a long time."

"You're forgetting the most obvious one." Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"Notch."

Silver silks glided about the man's delicate form as he swept down the hallway, feet only barely touching the ground. His shimmering hair flowed behind him, a stark contrast to his bone-pale skin. Each of his fingertips ended in a claw of pitch-black.

But, of course, he was not focused on his own appearance. Rather, that of his prisoner, hanging in stasis at the end of the silent hall.

The boy's mouth was half open in a silent cry, eyes closed as he hung limply in thin air. His skin was a pale blue, body frozen in time and space to prevent any attempt to escape. At a snap of his fingers, he would be reawoken, but now was not the time for that.

Orion leaned in, closer, as if his target could hear him better that way.

"I have you right where I want you." He spoke softly to the silent figure. "You can't hide from me forever, Brine."


	18. Chapter 18

Despite his distaste for Olivia's constant snark and enthusiasm, Hero was finding the lack of it to be decidedly unsettling.

The young woman trudged along beside him on the path worn into the underbrush, head hung as she clutched her injured arm in the other hand. The frostbite had been treated by a medic after the initial rush of the wounded, coated in a healing herb and bandaged, but Olivia had yet to report any change in the lack of feeling she could detect on that patch of skin. Perhaps that was the only reason for her quiet and malaise, but Hero could not help but assume, to his own guilt, that he was at least partially responsible.

The pair was on their way to the city of Kvett, a northern city with a reputation for housing the greatest temple of Notch in the modern world, and, as the god seemed to be their only hope, said temple was their next stop. Hero was never a worshipper of Notch, and indeed had many bitter thoughts about him as a child who never felt his fabled blessings, but, in their situation, they had little other choice. His own abilities paled in comparison to the havoc that Orion had wrought.

Hero snuck another glance at Olivia, to find that nothing about her stance or expression had changed. He felt displeased with himself for accusing her of not caring about her brother, but while he had never met the young man he imagined him to be a fine brother. Better than his own, anyway. If he had been anything like the Steven he had known as a child, Hero would have given his life to save him from the man that ravaged his city and kidnapped his family.

But, her rebuke had stood the test of reason. As he had informed her no dearth of times, she was a powerless, blind girl with little physical prowess. She had no reason to believe that she could even begin to fight an insanely powerful mythical being such as Orion.

"How long do you think the journey will be?" Olivia spoke up, interrupting his thoughts. It took him a moment to process this, then consult his map.

"Perhaps three or four days." He answered at last.

"Mm." She returned to staring at the path. Or… at nothing.

"Olivia?" He spoke after a brief pause. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Olivia lifted her head a bit. "Sorry?" Hero bit his lip.

"For accusing you back in the city, of not caring for your brother."

"Oh." A pause. "It's okay."

"I suppose I was putting myself in your place," He continued hastily, "And my brother in yours. He sounds like a fine man."

"Yeah."

"I did not- did not take into account the reality of the situation, of your physical status, that you would be unable to do much of anything. I'm sorry-"

"Okay, yeah, I get it, I said it's okay!" Olivia snapped, and Hero fell silent. He had a sinking feeling his apology had done more harm than good.

His fears were confirmed when he heard a sniffle, and spotted a wet patch on the blindfold over Olivia's eyes.

"Olivia." Hero shifted in front of her, and she stopped, lower lip trembling as she reached up to rub at her eyes. "It's alright, we're going to get him back."

"How d'you- c'n you know that?" Olivia's voice wobbled. "You can't. Notch, I _just_ finished- I accepted his d-death, and now I have to worry all over again-" A sob wrenched itself from her throat, and, on an impulse, he took up both her hands in his.

"We'll find Notch, he has to help us." He insisted. "He can't simply ignore such a threat, if he's the hero they say he is."

"And if he _isn't_?" Olivia wrenched her hands away to press them over her face. "If he's s-so good, wh-why hasn't he helped already?"

"I don't know, Nether, maybe he doesn't know." Olivia only scrunched her face up into a scowl, hiding it in her hands. Herobrine let out a breath, pausing for a moment to take in the girl's form. She was wounded and dirty, sticks and leaves in her hair, one arm wrapped in bandages. On top of her own condition, she had no idea where her family was, or even if they still lived, and their captor was personally hunting her down for reasons she didn't understand. Indeed, she had cause to be miserable. Hero hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her.

He was fully prepared for her to shove him off or make a more violent move, but she just leaned against his chest and cried. She cried until she had run out of tears, wrapping her arms around his waist at one point to keep herself up. Hero let her. Of course, he wanted to get to Kvett as soon as possible, but he would rather stop and let her get her emotions out than force her to hurry on and keep them trapped inside. Notch knew that never did him any good.

Finally, her weeping quieted, but she stayed buried in his arms for a couple minutes longer before letting go. Her shaking hands immediately went to her blindfold, soaked with her tears, and Herobrine tied it around his arm so they wouldn't lose it. They spent a couple minutes longer just standing on the path, Olivia sniffling and rubbing at her red eyes. Hero let his hand rest on her shoulder as he studied her miserable face, her tired eyes. Those cursed eyes, that brought suffering to anyone infected with their blight.

"We should go." She spoke up at last. Her voice was exhausted, but some of the anger had ebbed away with her tears.

"Let's." Hero agreed, taking her hand. She gave it a squeeze, not complaining.

They set off down the path again, hand in hand.


End file.
